A New Conduit
by StarFlight-Of-NightWings
Summary: Delsin was ready to take on Augustine. That is, until he got word of a new Conduit murdering DUP agents in Seattle, tearing them to shreds. Eugene and Fetch know more than they say, and the fate of the Tribe may rest on this new Conduit's shoulders. Based on inFAMOUS Second Son and the Good path
1. Chapter 1

"Breaking news: a series of murders began mysteriously, after the recent break-out at the Curdon-Cay base of the DUP. The entire left wing was destroyed, and left twenty-six guards dead. The recent murders-"

Eugene turned off the TV with a flick of his wrist. He turned his gaze to Fetch, his face growing pale. They were on a conference call with Delsin, who was preparing to take on Augustine. "You don't think..."

"It can't be..." Fetch muttered, staring at the dark TV screen.

"What? What is it guys?" Delsin sounded confused, and Eugene spoke softly.

"We think the Conduit who broke out of the DUP is the one behind the murders."

"What are you talking about? These guys are ripped to shreds – with no evidence of any signature. What Conduit could do something like that?" Delsin was skeptical, and rightly so. He had never heard of such a power in a Conduit.

"This one could... Look, I'm going to try to track her down. You can talk to her and try to get to the bottom of all these murders." Eugene turned to his computer to open up the conduit tracking map he had designed by hacking into the mobile command centers the DUP had set up. He scanned the screen, and found a single, flickering dot in the woods just outside Seattle.

"I'm sending the location to your phone. Go find her and convince her to stop the murders." He clicked a button, and the location spirited away to Delsin's phone.

Delsin jogged down the street, headed for the woods just outside the city. Eugene's words hung heavy in his thoughts, and he was a bit reluctant to meet this new conduit. He had Reggie trailing him for backup, but he still didn't like his odds against this Conduit. Reggie spoke in his ear through his bluetooth.

"Delsin, be careful. From what I can tell, these murders involved most of the flesh being torn from bone. Watch yourself." Delsin's stomach dropped like a stone.

"Thanks Reggie. That's really reassuring." He jogged into the trees, toward the new Conduit.

What he found looked like a nest. The ground had been scraped away to form a dip, dried pine needles cushioned the dip, and tree branches were woven to form a canopy over the nest. A sort of moat was dug around the nest to prevent against rain from infiltrating the pine needles. But there was, in fact, no Conduit.

"What the hell kind of person makes a place like this?" He said to himself as he wandered around the nest. He looked for clues, anything, to give him an idea of who this Conduit was. Then someone jumped on him and dragged him to the ground.


	2. Chapter 2

He gasped as he hit the ground hard and was pinned down. The sun was blocked out by broad black demon wings, and a girl was crouching on his chest. "Who the hell are you?! How did you find me?!" She hissed in his face, and he lay stunned for a moment.

"Dude, chill. I'm Delsin, and my Conduit friend Eugene found you." She stopped short, and let go of his arms.

"Eugene? With powers over television?" He nodded, and she stood up, stepping away so he could haul himself into a sitting position.

"Damn... Never been tackled by a girl before..." He rubbed his chest where her knees had been, and stood up. "What's your name anyway?"

"Me? I'm Lidia. Why didn't Eugene tell you that?" She looked suspiciously at him, her violet eyes glaring up into his brown ones.

"Woah, calm down. He didn't even tell me you were a girl, much less that your name." Delsin lifted his hand to feel for his hat, and she flinched. He blinked, but put his hand down. "Sorry if I startled you, but I was wondering if you knew anything about the recent murders."

Her eyes hardened, and she crossed her arms over her chest. "Yeah, I'm the one who's been committing them. But it's not like I want to. I have to, so I can survive." Delsin crossed his arms in turn.

"Why do you need to commit a felony to survive?" She looked away, almost remorsefully.

"It's a long, complicated story." Then she whipped around as Reggie stepped up behind her, his gun out.

"You're under arrest!" His voice was loud and commanding, and she hissed at him. Delsin held his hand up toward his brother.

"No, wait, Reggie, stop!" But it was a moment too late. Lidia's wing collided with Reggie's hand and knocked his gun away before she leaped forward and slammed her shoulder into his chest. He went flying backward, and she grabbed him by the shirt front. She dragged him to the ground, snarling in his face.

"Who the hell are you, and why did you put a gun in my face?! I should kill you for that!" Delsin stepped forward.

"Lidia, stop! Let me explain!" She hissed and grabbed Reggie by the neck.

"Start talking, pretty boy." Delsin took another step forward.

"Eugene and Fetch told us where to find you. We just wanted to talk. My brother here, the one you're strangling, is a cop. He's just following procedure. I swear, we won't make you go back to Curdon-Cay. We just want to talk." Her grip on Reggie's throat relaxed, and she pulled herself to her feet. Reggie coughed and grabbed his throat, curling up on his side. Lidia's smoldering eyes turned on Delsin.

"Well, you've got my attention, pretty boy. Keep talking." Delsin swallowed hard, and continued.

"We want you to stop the murders. We want you to come with us, to Fetch and Eugene so we can help you. So we can all get rid of the DUP, and shut down Curdon-Cay. We just want to help you. Please, come with us." She glared at him, her arms crossed.

"How do I know you haven't done something to Fetch and Eugene?" He pulled out his phone.

"You can talk to them yourself." He dialed Eugene's number, and waited as it rung.

"Delsin? Did you find her?" Eugene sounded urgent, almost desperate.

"Yup. I found her. But she's currently threatening to kill me unless she talks to you and Fetch, so I'm giving her my phone." He handed the device over to the girl, who took it hurriedly.

"Eugene? Fetch?" She listened for a few moments before she sighed with relief. "Thank god..." She exchanged words with the pair for a few more moments before she handed Delsin back his phone. "Here. I'll go with you, if you take me to Fetch and Eugene." Delsin nodded, and took back his phone. Reggie dragged himself to his feet, rubbing his throat.

"Damn… Delsin, remind me to never face a Conduit again." Delsin smirked and shook his head.

"I thought you would have learned that by now." Lidia growled irritably.

"Can we hurry this up?" Delsin glanced at her.

"Okay, calm down. Follow me."


	3. Chapter 3

Delsin lifted the entrance to Eugene's hideout, and Lidia glared at it suspiciously. "You realize that if this is a trap I'm going to rip you to shreds, right?"

"Yes, I know. You've said that six times on this trip." She slipped into the hideout, and Delsin followed. She called out, her voice echoing through the hideout.

"Fetch? Eugene? Are you here?"

"Lidia!" Fetch and Eugene both chorused as they hurried over to hug Lidia. She embraced them tightly, and held them for several moments.

"Thank god you're okay." She pulled away to inspect Eugene, one hand resting on his shoulder and the other on his arm. "Did they hurt you? The DUP? Did Delsin hurt you?" Eugene shook his head, and she hugged him again. "I was terrified that you had been killed in the crash…" Eugene hugged her back, and Delsin crossed his arms over his chest.

"Okay, I think Reggie and I deserve an explanation. Who is this girl, and how do you all know each other?" The trio of Conduits turned to face Delsin, and Eugene beckoned them all over to a couch and two chairs. Eugene, Fetch, and Lidia sat on the couch, and Delsin and Reggie sat in the chairs. Lidia spoke first.

"I was the second Conduit caught by the DUP. Augustine found me in the streets, begging for money. My wings got me beaten daily, but I survived. I hunted squirrels and rabbits and anything else I could find that I could eat. I was small back then, just a teen. Then she found me, promised me a whole new life with people to look after me. But then she locked me up. Kept me in solitary confinement, until she discovered how good I am taking care of other people. She put me in with Eugene because he was so timid when he first arrived. We were in the same cell for six years, at least most of the time. Augustine had me in with fetch part of the time after… After what happened." She put her hand on Fetch's knee and continued. "Augustine valued me a lot because of what I could do. My powers were always stretched to their limits, until I could control them. And when I overheard her talking about the crash, how she didn't know if Eugene and Fetch were dead or alive… I lost my temper. I destroyed half of her facility and escaped."

Delsin held up a hand. "Wait a minute. How did you destroy her facility? It's made of solid concrete, nothing can break through it."

She gave a little half-smile and shook her head. "I am pretty powerful. Let's leave it at that."


	4. Chapter 4

Eugene awoke to find Lidia sitting beside his mattress, her back toward him, and staring at the door. He sat up, stretched and rubbed his face. "Lidia, what are you doing?" She didn't turn around.

"Keeping watch, like always. You should know that I do it, I always used to when we were at Curdon-Cay." Eugene shifted to sit next to her.

"I remember, but I thought you were going to get some sleep."

"I don't sleep much. Never have." She kept her gaze affixed on the door. Eugene ran a hand through his hair, silence filling the air. Lidia suddenly yawned, her eyes closing momentarily. Eugene looked over at her.

"You're exhausted. Get some sleep, okay? Fetch and I can keep watch. Besides, the DUP don't know about this place." Lidia shook her head.

"I'm fine." She had barely finished speaking before another yawn overtook her. Eugene smiled softly and shook his head.

"Get some sleep, Lidia." She just nodded as her eyes drifted closed. She leaned her head on Eugene's shoulder, just as she always used to at Curdon-Cay, and drifted off to sleep. Eugene couldn't help but blush, and slowly put his arm around her shoulders. She settled herself against his side, her legs tucked up underneath her and her head nestled into the crook of his neck. She had always slept like this, tucked up against him. They had leaned against a wall of their cell, and slept curled up against each other for warmth. Eugene leaned his head on Lidia's, and a smile spread across his face. It was nice to have her back, after all the stress of the past two weeks.

And then he realized just how much he missed her. She was his friend, a really good friend at that, but it was more than that. He missed her like no one else, and it confused him. He realized he might think of her as something more than a friend. He might think of her as something akin to a girlfriend. But he could never tell her that. He was too afraid of rejection, too shy to tell her. But he could do something else. He smiled as he thought up his plan, mapped out every detail. He had to get this right. He closed his eyes as he fell deep into thought. Lidia slept on, curled up against his side.


	5. Chapter 5

Eugene put the final touches on his plan, the beam of light carving into the earth of his virtual world. He had invited Lidia into his world, told her he wanted to show her something. He just prayed that it would work. He heard a zap and then Lidia was beside him, looking startled. "That never fails to freak me out." She turned to Eugene and smiled. "So what did you want to show me?"

"I'll tell you in a minute. First, let's go flying." She smiled and nodded, spreading her massive black wings. Eugene summoned a pair of his own, glowing blue, and they took off into the sky. Eugene led her up to the height he had planned, and stopped. He turned to her, and they hovered in the air. "Look down," he said, pointing at the ground.

Lidia's gaze turned to the ground, and she blushed when she saw the words carved into the earth.

"Will you be my girlfriend?" was cut into the ground, still glowing in places where Eugene's power had been especially concentrated. Lidia's eyes turned to Eugene, and he himself blushed deeply. He smiled timidly, looking away from her violet eyes. "Well, will you?"

She smiled and nodded, blushing as she hovered. Eugene grinned as they both blushed, looking away from each other awkwardly. Lidia spoke softly. "Let's go back to the real world and we can talk about this." Eugene nodded and flicked his wrist. They were both transported back to the real world, zapping out of the television. Lidia stumbled and Eugene grabbed her arm to steady her, then blushed and removed his hand. Lidia blushed and reached out to grab his hand. "You don't have to let go. You can touch me." He blushed deeper and nodded timidly.

"I've never really had a girlfriend, so I don't know what to do." Lidia lightly tugged him closer.

"Well, for one thing, you don't have to stand so far away." He blushed as she tugged him steadily closer until they were standing only six inches apart.

"You can also touch me." She took his hands and placed them on her hips, which caused him to blush even more. She wrapped her arms around his neck gently and he paused to think. She always hated physical contact, but now was initiating it on her own. Would she like it if he got closer? He thought back to the stories she had told him about past lovers, and how she had liked how affectionate some of them were. With a sudden streak of boldness he pulled her against him. She gave a tiny gasp and looked up at him. A small smile crossed her face and she glanced away. "You're very bold today. I like it." Eugene smiled and bit his lip. He slowly leaned closer, their faces inching closer, until he lightly pressed his lips against hers. She blushed deeply and closed her eyes, leaning into the kiss. They stayed close, lips moving in unison, and Eugene wrapped his arms around her waist. When they finally pulled away their faces stayed close, and Lidia's breath was warm on Eugene's face. He blushed deeply and hugged her close. She rested her head against his shoulder and smiled. "That was nice." He nodded and leaned his head gently against hers. She nuzzled her face into his shoulder and closed her eyes. Her breath was warm against Eugene's neck, and he looked up as Fetch walked in, she surveyed the pair for a few moments and a smirk crossed her face.

"So you finally made a move, huh? That's cute." Eugene blushed and smiled sheepishly, and Lidia spoke after a moment, her voice muffled by his neck.

"He's adorable." Eugene blushed more deeply but didn't try to protest. Lidia sighed contentedly against his neck, settling a little more closely to his body.


End file.
